Clothes rack



1967 P. G. w. GRANEBRO 3,358,846

CLOTHES RACK Filed Nov. 18, 1965 United States Patent 3,358,846 CLOTHES RACK Per Grane Wilhelm Granebro, Bagargrand 9, Stockholm, Sweden Filed Nov. 18, 1965, Ser. No. 508,477 3 Claims. (Cl. 211-104) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A clothes rack in which a horizontal cross-piece is secured to the upper edge of a facing board attached to a wall and pivotably supports a pair of arms carrying a cross-bar with a clothes hanger, the arms in turn being connected by hinges to a pair of braces and having oblique end surfaces which form a blocking means with the braces to hold the latter in an unfolded position.

The present invention relates to so-called clothes valet, i.e. clothes racks for hanging gentlemens suits and, more specifically, to a clothes rack adapted to be mounted on a wall.

The clothes racks found on the market at present are constructed as movable furniture requiring a lot of space which is a drawback especially with respect to the small bedrooms of present day standards. Furthermore, on account of their friable structure, they are fairly rickety and, after using them for some time they exhibit a tendency towards loosening at the joints between the legs and the clothes hanger fastened between them, and between the legs and the stands supporting the rack.

An object of the present invention is to provide a clothes rack which does not suffer from the aforesaid disadvantages because it is adapted to be fastened to a wall and gives, above all, the advantage that it does not occupy any floor space and, furthermore, that it occupies in collapsed position a minimum space but satisfies nevertheless the same demands as a clothes rack of a conventional construction.

In a known clothes rack including a collapsible deposition plate and a hanger rod, a swingable brace is attached to the wall bracket and is adapted to support the deposition plate in a horizontal position. This known clothes rack has the disadvantage that the deposition plate has first to be swung into horizontal position and only thereafter is the brace capable of being swung by 90 to support the clothes hanger in an expanded posi tion.

A further object of this invention is to provide a clothes rack in which a grasp at the crossbar is suflicient to bring the clothes hanger from collapsed to expanded position, without the necessity of providing a special swingable bracket to maintain the clothes rack in its expanded position.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a clothes rack comprising a rectangular facing board adapted to be fastened to a wall, said board having fas tended to its upper edge a horizontal cross-piece extending away from said board, two parallel arms each of which has one end hinged to an end of said cross-piece at the underside thereof, a first crossbar being rotatably mounted between the other ends of said arms and having fastened thereto, at its central part, a clothes hanger, a support means comprising two parallel braces each of which is connected by a hinge to the end of the corresponding arm, a second crossbar connecting said two braces, and blocking means adapted to maintain the support means in an unfolded position.

The arms are provided with oblique end surfaces at fastened to the inner surface of the corresponding arm at a distance from its end which corresponds to the length of the oblique surface, thereby providing said blocking means to maintain the support means in the unfolded position.

Additional objects of the invention and advantages thereof, will be more readily apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the attached drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the clothes rack in unfolded position,

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view, and

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the clothes rack.

Referring to the drawing, the clothes rack or clothes valet, which is preferably made throughout from Wood, comprises a rectangular rear facing board 1, an upper cross-piece 2 fastened thereto and extending horizontally outwardly therefrom. Two parallel arms 5, 6 are hinged at each of one end thereof to the corresponding end of said cross-piece 2 at the underside thereof, Between the other ends of said arms a first cross-bar 7 is rotatably mounted on journals 8, 9. A clothes hanger 10 is fastened to the central part of the cross-bar 7. Two parallel braces 11, 12 are swingably connected by means of hinges 13 to the ends of the corresponding arms 5 and 6, respectively, in such a manner that the braces can be collapsed under the arms. The braces are rigidly connected to each other by means of a second cross-bar 14 so that they can be swung as a unitary support structure. The second crossbar simultaneously acts as a trouser hanger.

The braces 11, 12 have oblique end surfaces 15 at their hinges, and each hinge is fastened with one leg to the inner edge of the corresponding brace and with its other leg to the inner surface 16 of the corresponding arm at a distance from its end which corresponds to the height of the oblique surface. When unfolding the braces the oblique surface 15 will come into abutment against the inside of the arm so that the brace is prevented from swinging further outwardly and is maintained in the position shown in FIG. 2, i.e. with the ends of the braces 11, 12 resting against the rear facing board 1, the angle between the braces and the arms being dictated by the angle of inclination of the oblique surface to the axial direction of the brace. A suitable angle is 60. When the device is collapsed, the support structure is turned on the hinges 13 until the braces 11, 12 come into contact with the arms 5, 6 which are then capable of being folded downwardly and inwardly into alignment with the rear facing board 1 under the cross-piece 2. The structure is conveniently strengthened by means of side walls 17, 18 which contribute furthermore to impart to the device an attractive appearance. The cross-piece is suitably provided with a groove 19 or other suitable cavity for keeping keys, pens and the like.

What I claim is:

1. A clothes rack adapted to be fastened to a wall, said rack comprising a rear facing board adapted to lie close to the wall, a cross-piece connected to said board and extending outwardly from said board; two parallel spaced arms each of which has one end hingeably connected to a corresponding end of said cross-piece at the underside thereof; a first crossbar rotatably connected to said arms between the other ends thereof, a clothes hanger centrally fastened to said cross-bar, a support means comprising two parallel braces, a hinge connecting each brace to a corresponding arm at said other end thereof; said arms having oblique end surfaces at the location where they 3 4 are hinged to the braces, each hinge including one leg References Cited fastened to the corresponding brace and a second leg UNITED STATES PATENTS fastened to the corresponding arm at a distance from said other end thereof which corresponds to the length of 345012 7/1886 Wlegard 211 99 the oblique surface, thereby providing a blocking means 5 1'962205 6/1934 i 2n 104 to maintain the support means in an unfolded position. 2471349 5/1949 R6185 211104 X 2. A clothes rack as claimed in claim 1 comprising FOREIGN PATENTS a second crossbar connecting said two braces. 987,191 8/1951 France 3. A clothes rack as claimed in claim 1 comprising side walls secured both to said facing board at vertical 10 edges thereof and to the cross-Piece CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner.

68,719 1/ 1945 Norway. 

1. A CLOTHES RACK ADAPTED TO BE FASTENED TO A WALL, SAID RACK COMPRISING A REAR FACING BOARD ADAPTED TO LIE CLOSE TO THE WALL, A CROSS-PIECE CONNECTED TO SAID BOARD AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID BOARD; TWO PARALLEL SPACED ARMS EACH OF WHICH HAS ONE END HINGEABLY CONNECTED TO A CORRESPONDING END OF SAID CROSS-PIECE AT THE UNDERSIDE THEREOF; A FIRST CROSSBAR ROTATABLY CONNECTED TO SAID ARMS BETWEEN THE OTHER ENDS THEREOF, A CLOTHES HANGER CENTRALLY FASTENED TO SAID CROSS-BAR, A SUPPORT MEANS COMPRISING TWO PARALLEL BRACES, A HINGE CONNECTING EACH BRACE TO A CORRESPONDING ARM AT SAID OTHER END THEREOF; SAID ARMS HAVING OBLIQUE END SURFACES AT THE LOCATION WHERE THEY ARE HINGED TO THE BRACES, EACH HINGE INCLUDING ONE LEG FASTENED TO THE CORRESPONDING BRACE AND A SECOND LEG FASTENED TO THE CORRESPONDING ARM AT A DISTANCE FROM SAID OTHER END THEREOF WHICH CORRESPONDS TO THE LENGTH OF THE OBLIQUE SURFACE, THEREBY PROVIDING A BLOCKING MEANS TO MAINTAIN THE SUPPORT MEANS IN AN UNFOLDED POSITION. 